Illegal gold mining activities take place in watersheds on the slopes of Mount Nona in Lolong Guba district, Buru regency, Maluku, on Friday (11/11/2016). Mineral processing waste mixed with mercury has polluted 326 hectares of paddy fields in Grandeng village, 15 kilometers away from the mining site.
JAKARTA, KOMPAS – Mercury contamination is a time bomb in Indonesia in line with the escalating usage of the hazardous chemical substance in gold mining. Mercury is widely distributed and can be easily found in the market. The substance is domestically produced nowadays.
The latest research from environmental civil society organization Bali Fokus and the International POPs Elimination Network cited that the valuation of health impact and intelligence quotient (IQ) decline among Indonesian children exposed to mercury (Hg) contamination reached between Rp 12 billion (US$898,473) and Rp 24 billion. The research published in the Journal of Environmental Management in 2016 was conducted in 14 countries known to be using mercury, including Indonesia.
Bali Fokus toxic program manager Krishna Zaki said in Jakarta on Friday that the research samples in Indonesia were taken from people in Sekotong, West Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and in Poboya, Central Sulawesi. Samples of people’s hair from the two locations contain mercury between 0.82 parts per million (ppm) and 13.3 ppm, far higher than the health standards of below 0.58 ppm.
With such high levels of mercury contamination, locals face hazards of neurological diseases that can be passed down to fetuses during pregnancy, resulting in decreasing IQs and other adverse health effects in newborn babies.
Miners in Sekotong and Pobaya amalgamate gold ore with mercury and incinerate the metals during the extraction process. These processes are usually done in backyards or near rice fields. The miners then process the mercury-contaminated tailing (mining waste) with cyanide or dump it directly into the river.
“The use of mercury in traditional gold mines is spread throughout almost all provinces in Indonesia and the health impact is severe. We have reported this numerous times. Therefore, we appreciate the government’s move in banning the use of mercury,” Krishna said.
Previously, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo led a limited Cabinet meeting to formulate a new regulation on banning the use of hazardous materials, such as mercury. Apart from the usage ban, the regulation will also cover monitoring improvements on commerce systems as well as provisions of jobs for local miners and health assistance for locals exposed to mercury use.
Exposure
According to Krishna, apart from in Sekotong, Bali Fokus has also conducted surveys in Cisitu traditional community, Banten, and in Bombana, Southwest Sulawesi, which shows the adverse health impacts of using mercury in gold mining. “We found many locals we believed to have been exposed with mercury. Some of these people who we believed to have been exposed to mercury, especially children, have died,” he said.
Krishna continued that exposure to mercury can result in damages on nervous and cardiovascular systems as well as the kidneys. Organ systems, such as the nervous system in fetuses, are among the most sensitive to mercury’s hazardous effects, even if though bodily organs are prone to adverse effects from mercury exposure.
Mercury is a persistent pollutant. It is not easily dissolved in natural conditions and can be carried far away once it is in the air or water. Mercury exposure can occur through consumption of mercury-contaminated fish along with contaminated rice and direct exposure.
Environment and Forestry Ministry’s dangerous and poisonous material convention application sub-directorate head Purwasto Saroprayogo said that, referring to the Minamata tragedy in Japan and its hereditary health problems, Indonesia may potentially face similar or even greater danger related to locals’ social, economic, cultural and health aspects.
“Indonesia has signed the Minamata Convention, but we are still in the process of ratifying it. The target is 2018 at the latest,” he said.
Purwasto said that stopping all usage of mercury was not easy as the substance was produced locally nowadays. Illegal imports are also a problem. The ministry has identified three locations of unlicensed traditional cinnabar stone or mercury sulfide mines, namely in Aceh, Seram Island, and West Kalimantan. Cinnabar stone is a raw ingredient in mercury production and is among the most toxic stones.
“The biggest source for cinnabar stone is on Mt. Tembaga on Seram Island, Maluku. It has been mined since 2012,” he said.
A survey by the minister on May 21, 2016, found that cinnabar from Seram Island is delivered to Java to be processed into mercury, especially in Bandung, Sukabumi, Tasikmalaya, Garut and Surabaya. Mercury concentration in the atmosphere in several villages in Sukabumi was around 101.07 micrograms per cubic meter, higher than the threshold of 100 micrograms per cubic meter.
